Written Answers Wednesday 20 April 2005

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it received representations from NFU Scotland on the consequences of the method of calculating the single farm payment (SFP) for sheep farmers; whether it considers that an anomaly has arisen through the effect experienced by some sheep farmers as a result of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2001, whereby farmers who were only partially restocked before the 2002 sheep annual premium (SAP) claim period have received a lower annual premium and may be losing out financially due to the operation of the method of calculation of the SFP, and whether the Executive will exclude 2002 when selecting the reference period for calculation of the SAP.

Ross Finnie: NFU Scotland has brought to my officials’ attention a number of aspects of sheep farming and the Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFPS), including the impact of FMD and the ability to restock fully.

  Before dealing with sheep producers, I need to set out the position of all producers under the SFPS. The European regulations allow any producer whose production was adversely affected by force majeure or exceptional circumstances during the reference period of 2000-02 to request that the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department review its initial estimate of their entitlements. If successful, the entitlements will be calculated on the unaffected schemes during 2000-02 (if a scheme is adversely affected for all three years in 2000-02, an alternative reference period of 1997-99 can be used). As at 18 April, 2,900 businesses have submitted requests for such a review of their entitlements and over 52% of these challenges have been upheld.

  Sheep producers have the same rights as others within SFPS. If they meet the criteria, they can have their entitlements recalculated as described above, including dropping 2002 schemes from their entitlement calculation. The Executive does not have the discretion to change the rules which govern the calculation of entitlements. The operation of the rules will impact differently in different circumstances but this is not necessarily anomalous.

Asylum Seekers

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase funding in the next five years for the promotion of greater awareness of asylum seeker and refugee issues.

Malcolm Chisholm: Funding to aid the integration of refugees and asylum seekers through the implementation of the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum Action Plan is awarded annually on a case-by-case basis according to proposals submitted. Promotion of positive images of refugees and asylum seekers is one of the actions in the action plan. While there are no specific plans to increase funding for this area the Executive will continue to support this work as appropriate.

Bankruptcy

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place between it and the UK Government prior to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget 2005 announcement that the Insolvency Service Agency and the Department of Trade and Industry’s company investigations branch are to be merged to form a new insolvency agency; which ministers participated in any discussions; whether it will place the minutes of any discussions in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre; whether the new agency will have offices in Scotland; how it will report to the Executive and the Parliament; what impact the agency will have on the provisions of the draft Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill; who will appoint its board; what role the Executive will have in such appointments, and how much of the agency’s budget will be for devolved functions.

Mr Jim Wallace: Corporate insolvency is a reserved area and the Insolvency Service has UK wide responsibility for it.

  Operational questions regarding the setting up of the new agency in Scotland are a matter for the Insolvency Service. The agency will deal with corporate insolvency and will therefore have no direct impact on the Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill, which deals with personal debt only.

Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consult on the draft guidance referred to in the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill; when it expects the consultation period to end, and whether the Parliament will be able to consider the draft guidance before it is finalised.

Malcolm Chisholm: Section 9 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill provides that the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) must, after consulting such persons as it thinks fit, produce guidance on how it determines whether a body meets the charity test. The guidance cannot be adopted until OSCR is set up in the form envisaged under the bill and those sections have been commenced. However, in preparation for this, OSCR will consult on the guidance before the charity test comes into force. The guidance will not be formally laid before the Parliament but the Communities Committee will be included in the consultation and OSCR will lay its annual report before the Parliament.

Digital Technology

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in relation to local loop unbundling; whether it is consulting on problems affecting the provision of broadband access, and whether it considers that Scotland is at a disadvantage in comparison with England on this issue.

Nicol Stephen: Telecoms regulation is reserved and the matters raised, such as on local loop unbundling, are within the responsibilities of the UK-wide regulator, OFCOM. The Executive has expressed its views on these issues through responses to relevant OFCOM consultations, such as the Strategic Telecoms Review.

Education

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to monitor the effectiveness of its guidelines on home education.

Peter Peacock: Following publication of the guidance in March 2004, the Scottish Executive wrote to Directors of Education to emphasise the need for local authority policies to reflect it. We have also established an e-mail address at home.education@scotland.gsi.gov.uk to enable home educators and others to provide feedback to the Executive, and have given a commitment to review the guidance next year.

Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the shortcomings in science education identified in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education’s report, Improving Achievement in Science in Primary and Secondary Schools.

Peter Peacock: Since 2002, Education Authorities have been provided with additional funding of £18 million to invest in new science equipment and other resources. In February 2005, we announced investment of more than £300,000 to provide a programme of residential summer schools and better training opportunities to allow teachers to update their science skills.

  The review of the school science curriculum which, is one of the main priorities identified within A Curriculum for Excellence, has commenced. Learning and Teaching Scotland, who keep aspects of the curriculum under review, launched a set of updated exemplar materials for science teachers in November 2004.

Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that the science curriculum in schools is kept up to date.

Peter Peacock: The review of the school science curriculum, which is one of the main priorities identified within A Curriculum for Excellence , has commenced. Learning and Teaching Scotland, who keep aspects of the curriculum under review, launched a set of updated exemplar materials for science teachers in November 2004.

Enterprise

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive who has overall responsibility for the Inverclyde Energy and Safety Team.

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive who has overall responsibility for the Inverclyde Energy and Safety Team Port Glasgow.

Allan Wilson: Solas Scotland, which is a community based organisation, a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee, is responsible for the Inverclyde Energy and Safety Team. The company’s board is made up of representatives from tenants’ associations, housing associations and a representative from Inverclyde Council.

Enterprise

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been taken to inform residents in Port Glasgow of the work of the Inverclyde Energy and Safety Team Port Glasgow.

Allan Wilson: I launched the Invest Port Glasgow project at the St Stephen’s Business Centre on 11 March 2005. There have been several press releases through local media outlets and a series of door-to-door visits by the Invest team to residents and to local businesses aimed at increasing awareness of the projects work.

Equal Opportunities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will commission research to identify statistical and demographic information to inform community development and service planning and to project need for particular services in light of key action 19 in Scottish Refugee Integration Forum: Action Plan – progress report .

Malcolm Chisholm: The need for this research has been considered as part of the development of the Social Research Programme. However, in light of the current difficulties surrounding collating the essential data, it is not possible to commission this research at this time. Consideration will be given to how this research could be carried out in the future.

Equal Opportunities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to local authorities to enable them to provide translation and interpreting services for ethnic minorities in each year from 1999, broken down by local authority.

Malcolm Chisholm: No specific funding is provided to local authorities for the provision of translation and interpretation services. It is for each authority to decide how it will use its grant settlement to ensure that these services are provided at an appropriate level.

Equal Opportunities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake of translation and interpreting services for ethnic minorities has been in each year from 1999 to 2004, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.

Equal Opportunities

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to adapt the Equality and Diversity Impact Assessment Toolkit, produced for the NHS, for use by other Executive Departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is committed to mainstreaming equality to ensure that all policies, legislation, spending plans and services integrate an equalities perspective and are designed and delivered in a way that is sensitive to the diverse needs and experiences of all people living in Scotland.

  The Scottish Executive’s Equality Unit has already done significant work on mainstreaming equality throughout Executive departments. In this next period we intend to develop further materials and provide additional support to departments.

  We will look to build on the success of the NHS Equality and Diversity Impact Assessment Toolkit to ensure that its guiding principles are built in to our future work in supporting departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Equal Opportunities

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its responsibilities in respect of the encouragement of equal opportunities, what representations it will make to the Department of Trade and Industry and the Cabinet Office to ensure that the Equalities Review gives specific consideration to Scottish issues.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is represented on the Department of Trade and Industry and Cabinet Office’s Equalities Review Team and what the reasons are for the position on the matter.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be represented on the Department of Trade and Industry and Cabinet Office’s Equalities Review reference group.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues including this matter. Assurance has been given that Scotland will be represented on the Equality Reference Group for the review and that the review team will fully engage with both the Executive and other relevant Scottish partners.

European Union

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial provision it has made in 2005-06 in respect of the promotion of a "yes" vote in the referendum on the EU Constitution in light of REGLEG’s Declaration of Edinburgh.

Mr Tom McCabe: Financial provision for any information activities about the EU Constitutional Treaty will be considered as part of the normal planning process.

European Union

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it will play in complying with REGLEG’s Declaration of Edinburgh in respect of promoting a "yes" vote in the forthcoming referendum on the EU Constitution.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive will play an appropriate role in informing the public about the EU Constitutional Treaty, as well as about the benefits of EU membership more generally.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people charged with (a) murder and (b) culpable homicide have (i) applied for, (ii) been granted and (iii) been refused bail in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: The available statistics on the number of murder and culpable homicide charges on bail orders granted are given in the table. Statistical information on total applications for bail and refusals of bail is not held centrally.

  Number of Murder and Culpable Homicide Charges on Bail Orders Granted1, Scotland, 1999-2004

  

Year
Murder
Culpable Homicide


1999
3
7


2000
29
12


2001
34
2


2002
57
13


2003
50
14


2004
55
7



  Note: 1. Excludes modifications to existing bail orders.

  The increase since 2000 in the number of persons who have been charged with murder and who have been granted bail reflects the repeal in that year of the statutory exclusion to bail for those charged with murder.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have been released under the electronic monitoring scheme since May 2002; what the categories of offences were for which such prisoners had been sentenced; how many such prisoners were electronically tagged in each category, and what the average length of sentence received was in each category.

Cathy Jamieson: The measures in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 enabling the Parole Board to impose electronic monitoring as a condition of a release licence came into force on 1 January 2004. To date, one young offender who was sentenced to three years imprisonment for various dishonesty offences and contravention of the Road Traffic Act 1988 has been released with a licence that included a condition to comply with electronic monitoring.

  Electronic monitoring is a valuable addition to the licence conditions available to the Parole Board and can help maintain an offender’s risk at an acceptable level. I have urged the Parole Board to consider making greater use of this as an additional safeguard.

Justice

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is being undertaken to assess the value of tagging juvenile offenders and its effect on reducing antisocial behaviour.

Cathy Jamieson: Intensive Support and Monitoring Services (ISMS) became available as a disposal of the Children’s Hearing System on 1 April 2005. Use of ISMS will be monitored by the Scottish Executive on a quarterly basis. Research will also be undertaken to fully evaluate the first phase, including operational aspects, the financial costs and long-term effectiveness of ISMS.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) recorded offences and (b) convictions there have been under section 161 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 for possession of indecent photographs of children, in each year since 1991.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information on offences recorded by the police is given in the following table. The recorded crime statistics collected centrally do not distinguish legislation at the level of detail requested. In consequence the figures given in the table include all offences of handling obscene material, including offences relating to indecent photographs of adults or offences involving obscene material other than photographs.

  Offences Recorded by Police of Handling Obscene Material, Scotland, 1991–2003

  

Year
Number of Offences Recorded


1991
391


1992
515


1993
514


1994
248


1995
240


1996
187


1997
108


1998
110


1999
89


2000
157


2001
169


2002
198


2003
402



  The available information on convictions for handling obscene material is given in the following table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Handling Obscene Material1, 1991-2003

  

Year
Total
Of which Involving an Offence Under Section 52A of Civic Government (Scotland) Act 19823


1991
10
-


1992
8
2


1993
6
-


1994
8
-


1995
8
-


1996
14
1


1997
8
-


1998
17
1


1999
13
1


2000
22
3


2001
21
3


2002
29
8


20032
70
11



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes estimated data.

  3. Offence introduced by section 161 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

  The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim and there is the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course if judicial proceedings. Also a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) recorded offences and (b) convictions there have been under section 12 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 for cruelty to persons under 16, in each year since 1997.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information on crimes recorded by the police of cruelty and unnatural treatment of persons under 16 is given in the following table. The recorded crime statistics collected centrally do not distinguish legislation at the level of detail requested. In consequence the figures given in the table include all crimes of cruelty and unnatural treatment of persons under 16, including crimes recorded under legislation other than that specified in the question or under Common Law.

  Number of Crimes Recorded by the Police of Cruel and Unnatural Treatment of Persons Under 16, Scotland, 1997-2003

  

Year
Number of Crimes Recorded by the Police


1997
1,264


1998
1,263


1999
1,351


2000
1,124


2001
1,301


2002
1,407


2003
1,488



  The available information on convictions for cruel and unnatural treatment of persons under 16 is given in the following table.

  Number of Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Cruel and Unnatural Treatment of Persons Under 161, Scotland, 1997-2003

  

Year
Number


1997
144


1998
154


1999
142


2000
138


2001
132


2002
156


20032
194



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence. All cases involved an offence under section 12 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 apart from two cases in 1997 and one in 2000 where the main offence involved was the common law offence of cruel and unnatural treatment.

  2. Includes estimated data.

  The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim and there is the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course if judicial proceedings. Also a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) recorded offences and (b) convictions there have been under section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 for physical punishment of children, in each year since 2003.

Cathy Jamieson: Section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 does not create any offences but lists the factors that may be considered where a person claims that something done to a child was a physical punishment carried out in exercise of a parental right or of a right derived from having charge or care of the child. In consequence there can be no recorded crime or convictions resulting from this section of the act.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7842 by Elish Angiolini QC on 25 February 2005, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the table.

Elish Angiolini QC: The original answer to question S2W-7842 has been corrected to remove the error in the final column. A copy of the corrected table is as follows:

  Financial Year 2002-03

  

Police Force
Number of Cases
No Proceedings on Account of Delay by Reporting Agency
Proceeded to Trial: Evidence led from Witnesses
Reports Resulting in a Conviction
Pending Cases


Central Scotland Police
14,879
264
407
6,547
647


Dumfries and Galloway Police
7,640
60
189
3,718
319


Fife Constabulary
14,776
221
386
6,135
1,173


Grampian Police
18,019
213
552
10,365
1,316


Lothian and Borders Police
34,934
1,482
1,484
15,485
1,664


Northern Constabulary
13,437
142
464
6,534
556


Strathclyde Police
148,175
12,921
5,674
46,661
13,071


Tayside Police
23,115
97
970
11,908
1,527


British Transport Police
1,692
9
40
466
134


Other
64
2
8
10
8


Total
276,731
15,411
10,174
107,829
20,415



  Notes:

  1. Delay by reporting agency figures now also include those marked no-pro time-bar as being time-barred upon receipt.

  2. "Reports Resulting in a Conviction" includes cases where accused pleaded guilty before trial.

  3. "Pending Cases" includes cases which do not have a status of "closed" in our case management system as at 1 June 2004. It includes cases where criminal proceedings have started but not yet concluded, cases where there is an outstanding warrant and cases which have resulted in conviction but the sentence has been deferred or proceedings have been re-activated because of a breach of community order or a current appeal. It is therefore possible that a case will also be recorded in another column in this table.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13957 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 February 2005, whether it will publish an updated version of the answer reconciling the totals with the data in the tables.

Cathy Jamieson: The following tables have been updated to take account of the finalised data now available for 2003-04. Yearly totals for Scotland are not comparable due to data being unavailable for different courts in different years. The footnotes to the table provide additional information on the limitations of the data.

  Number of District Court Fines Fully Remitted, 1999-2000 to 2003-04

  

District court
1999-20001
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Aberdeen City
146
33
94
52
157


Aberdeenshire
61
28
79
18
26


Angus
27
6
5
3
20


Argyll and Bute
162
60
54
38
50


Clackmannanshire
12
1
3
2
1


Dumfries and Galloway
28
-
11
9
N/A


Dundee City
38
25
30
52
25


East Ayrshire
116
13
68
-
N/A


East Dunbartonshire
16
6
5
-
2


East Lothian
-
5
2
4
5


East Renfrewshire
-
2
-
-
-


Edinburgh, City of
408
N/A
240
175
107


Eilean Siar
-
19
N/A
N/A
N/A


Falkirk
42
14
11
5
25


Fife
225
117
137
57
N/A


Glasgow City
385
141
43
79
17


Highland
180
125
19
27
74


Inverclyde
31
23
31
28
33


Midlothian
2
5
12
10
16


Moray
2
1
19
4
29


North Ayrshire
59
13
24
24
18


North Lanarkshire
425
2502
6453
6564
69 5


Perth and Kinross
80
126
79
2116
40


Renfrewshire
255
143
49
61
131


Scottish Borders
41
5
5
1
2


South Ayrshire
2
6
44
30
129


South Lanarkshire
106
41
21
24
11


Stirling
32
40
N/A
N/A
N/A


West Dunbartonshire
436
55
22
78
22


West Lothian
36
154
154
37
69


Scotland
3,353
1,457
1,906
1,685
1,078



  Notes:

  "N/A" denotes data not available.

  1. Includes partly remitted fines – a separate breakdown of fully and partly remitted fines was not collected for 1999-2000.

  2. Coatbridge only.

  3. Includes fully and partly remitted fines, registered fines and compensation orders.

  4. Includes fully and partly remitted fines; excludes partly remitted fines for Coatbridge; includes remitted registered fines and compensation orders for Motherwell.

  5. Motherwell only.

  6. Includes partly remitted fines.

  Number of District Court Fines Partly Remitted, 2000-01 to 2003-041

  

District Court
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Aberdeen City
26
17
21
113


Aberdeenshire
21
31
13
6


Angus
15
10
4
11


Argyll and Bute
25
22
17
21


Clackmannanshire
2
4
-
2


Dumfries and Galloway
12
6
3
N/A


Dundee City
69
-
70
31


East Ayrshire
8
37
-
N/A


East Dunbartonshire
5
2
2
-


East Lothian
1
1
-
-


East Renfrewshire
3
-
-
-


Edinburgh, City of
N/A
38
10
13


Eilean Siar
-
N/A
N/A
N/A


Falkirk
10
6
8
34


Fife
38
42
34
N/A


Glasgow City
40
39
50
23


Highland
103
18
3
39


Inverclyde
9
19
12
18


Midlothian
-
5
6
4


Moray
-
1
-
13


North Ayrshire
36
36
36
30


North Lanarkshire
102
N/A3
N/A3
N/A


Perth and Kinross
57
N/A
N/A3
26


Renfrewshire
129
57
59
104


Scottish Borders
1
3
3
1


South Ayrshire
2
46
18
114


South Lanarkshire
36
7
12
6


Stirling
7
N/A
N/A
N/A


West Dunbartonshire
26
22
30
12


West Lothian
4
6
25
48


Scotland
695
475
436
669



  Notes:

  "N/A" denotes data not available.

  1. The numbers of fines which were partly remitted in 1999-2000 are included with the number of fully remitted fines in the first table – a separate breakdown of fully and partly remitted fines was not collected for that year.

  2. Coatbridge only.

  3. See footnote to corresponding figure of fully remitted fines in the first table.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons had a charge proved for the crimes of indecency (a) rape, (b) attempted rape, (c) indecent assault, (d) lewd and indecent behaviour and (e) other offences in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Selected Offences1, by Police Force Area, 1997-2003

  

Offence/Police Force Area
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20033


Rape 
 


Central 
-
3
2
1
-
-
3


Dumfries and Galloway
2
-
1
2
1
-
1


Fife 
2
11
2
-
6
2
5


Grampian 
1
3
6
1
2
2
3


Lothian and Borders 
6
6
8
10
9
7
4


Northern 
1
2
1
2
3
1
5


Strathclyde 
13
11
9
11
16
17
15


Tayside 
6
1
-
1
5
-
8


Total
31
37
29
28
42
29
44


Attempted Rape 
 


Central 
2
-
-
-
1
1
2


Dumfries and Galloway
-
1
1
-
-
1
-


Fife 
4
2
3
3
2
-
1


Grampian 
-
1
2
-
-
2
1


Lothian and Borders 
3
1
5
2
8
1
3


Northern 
1
2
-
1
-
-
-


Strathclyde 
8
12
6
7
12
5
10


Tayside 
4
6
5
2
3
3
1


Total
22
25
22
15
272
13
18


Indecent Assault 
 


Central 
4
3
3
2
4
1
5


Dumfries and Galloway
3
-
1
1
1
-
2


Fife 
8
4
9
6
6
9
8


Grampian 
6
10
15
4
4
4
3


Lothian and Borders 
15
20
14
9
8
11
19


Northern 
5
8
6
7
6
6
4


Strathclyde 
29
34
28
31
18
18
36


Tayside 
14
7
6
6
4
7
5


Total
84
86
82
66
522
56
82


Lewd and Indecent Behaviour 
 


Central 
24
18
9
14
17
15
12


Dumfries and Galloway
7
7
4
14
14
3
3


Fife 
26
31
34
19
23
26
18


Grampian 
25
24
13
18
25
21
27


Lothian and Borders 
78
61
76
44
52
48
48


Northern 
18
15
18
8
18
22
22


Strathclyde 
133
135
130
109
110
130
106


Tayside 
23
33
32
26
30
26
28


Total
334
324
316
252
289
291
264


Other Crimes of Indecency 
 


Central 
10
8
2
9
3
1
9


Dumfries and Galloway
8
7
1
1
3
2
1


Fife 
5
5
9
4
4
8
10


Grampian 
100
109
30
15
11
13
15


Lothian and Borders 
38
33
26
20
19
13
23


Northern 
7
4
6
10
10
4
13


Strathclyde 
551
674
375
227
152
122
107


Tayside 
11
16
12
11
10
13
12


Total
730
856
461
297
212
176
190



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes one case where force is unknown.

  3. Includes estimated data.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons had a charge proved for the non-sexual crimes of violence (a) homicide, (b) serious assault and attempted murder, (c) robbery and (d) other offences in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Selected Offences1, by Police Force Area, 1997- 2003

  

Offence/Police Force Area
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20033


Homicide 
 


Central 
7
6
6
1
3
5
2


Dumfries and Galloway
2
1
-
-
4
6
1


Fife 
9
3
1
1
7
5
2


Grampian 
8
2
14
5
11
8
9


Lothian and Borders 
12
18
11
10
8
17
10


Northern 
5
4
7
6
5
2
6


Strathclyde 
62
50
64
64
58
42
47


Tayside 
3
4
4
8
5
9
6


Total
108
88
107
95
101
94
83


Serious Assault and Attempted Murder
 


Central 
38
56
64
59
56
85
84


Dumfries and Galloway
33
29
27
25
27
41
34


Fife 
55
58
57
51
71
99
60


Grampian 
70
75
91
68
71
74
93


Lothian and Borders 
184
144
142
169
173
227
228


Northern 
22
39
36
57
43
45
67


Strathclyde 
552
516
589
526
585
604
744


Tayside 
83
85
80
94
95
123
100


Total
1,037
1,002
1,086
1,0502
1,121
1,298
1,410


Robbery 
 


Central 
22
17
20
20
27
23
32


Dumfries and Galloway
15
6
12
17
22
19
14


Fife 
42
32
42
36
41
38
49


Grampian 
34
55
40
33
50
51
70


Lothian and Borders 
125
84
96
83
79
102
70


Northern 
5
9
9
2
6
6
5


Strathclyde 
380
389
425
405
383
356
362


Tayside 
41
35
38
29
22
30
29


Total
664
627
682
625
6322
625
631


Other Crimes of Violence 
 


Central 
4
4
3
6
6
9
8


Dumfries and Galloway
4
9
2
4
4
1
1


Fife 
9
13
12
6
8
10
9


Grampian 
27
26
19
14
8
12
15


Lothian and Borders 
34
29
25
30
19
32
49


Northern 
16
6
12
8
10
8
6


Strathclyde 
91
105
105
87
98
123
152


Tayside 
33
31
27
33
28
25
23


Total
218
223
205
188
181
220
263



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes a small number of cases where force is unknown.

  3. Includes estimated data.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons had a charge proved for the crimes of dishonesty (a) housebreaking, (b) theft by opening a lockfast place, (c) theft of a motor vehicle, (d) shoplifting, (e) other theft, (f) fraud and (g) other offences in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Selected Offences1, by Police Force Area, 1997- 2003

  

Offence/Police Force Area
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20032


Housebreaking 
 


Central 
159
102
139
109
160
154
150


Dumfries and Galloway
99
118
105
109
104
97
86


Fife 
347
297
330
292
334
268
275


Grampian 
497
469
470
429
415
351
363


Lothian and Borders 
486
369
331
388
347
416
353


Northern 
125
106
104
71
102
76
103


Strathclyde 
1,288
1,293
1,358
1,096
1,075
1,122
1,004


Tayside 
274
223
184
192
174
251
198


Total
3,275
2,977
3,021
2,686
2,711
2,735
2,532


Theft by Opening a Lockfast Place
 


Central 
113
91
81
55
66
73
73


Dumfries and Galloway
26
23
18
28
25
17
39


Fife 
192
159
158
147
135
134
120


Grampian 
182
192
141
171
137
134
122


Lothian and Borders 
320
269
228
175
242
202
171


Northern 
42
39
33
40
28
37
30


Strathclyde 
1,075
928
892
768
765
757
633


Tayside 
142
101
107
113
103
118
101


Total
2,092
1,802
1,658
1,497
1,501
1,472
1,289


Theft of a Motor Vehicle 
 


Central 
89
85
67
77
60
72
55


Dumfries and Galloway
34
28
24
24
31
54
64


Fife 
119
126
112
114
148
106
100


Grampian 
169
178
168
172
137
113
124


Lothian and Borders 
349
290
223
218
217
261
222


Northern 
46
40
48
56
65
57
78


Strathclyde 
1,135
948
858
692
594
635
568


Tayside 
205
158
142
96
124
128
84


Total
2,146
1,853
1,642
1,449
1,376
1,426
1,295


Shoplifting 
 


Central 
270
257
391
477
641
595
481


Dumfries and Galloway
93
109
135
195
176
212
234


Fife 
306
384
451
480
518
446
424


Grampian 
947
1,133
803
814
894
969
852


Lothian and Borders 
1,286
1,258
1,166
1,194
1,172
1,335
1,173


Northern 
217
213
216
163
208
254
239


Strathclyde 
3,185
3,586
3,777
3,412
3,728
4,311
3,802


Tayside 
890
671
710
684
786
809
788


Total
7,194
7,611
7,649
7,419
8,123
8,931
7,993


Other Theft 
 


Central 
385
292
281
245
260
271
212


Dumfries and Galloway
224
243
201
184
180
199
140


Fife 
348
311
335
270
273
253
242


Grampian 
558
552
457
468
441
363
397


Lothian and Borders 
847
828
638
637
636
629
525


Northern 
284
209
176
172
169
175
194


Strathclyde 
2,899
2,927
2,819
2,198
2,019
1,681
1,435


Tayside 
415
339
353
319
306
305
342


Total
5,960
5,701
5,260
4,493
4,284
3,876
3,487


Fraud 
 


Central 
77
75
81
66
76
88
106


Dumfries and Galloway
85
65
78
48
46
52
53


Fife 
152
106
90
108
110
80
80


Grampian 
213
234
151
171
156
134
132


Lothian and Borders 
395
435
292
270
288
378
335


Northern 
76
92
103
69
60
71
71


Strathclyde 
870
829
726
581
619
528
525


Tayside 
142
138
114
145
135
120
120


Total
2,010
1,974
1,635
1,458
1,490
1,451
1,422


Other Dishonesty Offences 
 


Central 
103
137
100
82
120
117
91


Dumfries and Galloway
82
62
61
34
46
53
51


Fife 
141
109
106
87
129
100
98


Grampian 
351
353
307
189
196
230
195


Lothian and Borders 
412
348
328
310
327
344
258


Northern 
95
85
74
51
64
70
80


Strathclyde 
1,508
1,474
1,242
925
872
814
730


Tayside 
297
242
210
186
207
185
252


Total
2,989
2,810
2,428
1,864
1,961
1,913
1,755



  Notes:

  1. Were main offence.

  2. Includes estimated data.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons had a charge proved for (a) fire-raising and (b) vandalism etc., in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Selected Offences1, by Police Force Area, 1997-2003

  

Offence/Police Force Area 
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20032


Fire-Raising 
 


Central 
9
10
5
4
9
12
18


Dumfries and Galloway
4
6
7
2
6
4
4


Fife 
10
10
8
13
14
15
20


Grampian 
15
6
13
9
12
10
17


Lothian and Borders 
22
19
15
15
16
22
29


Northern 
5
14
7
5
8
8
16


Strathclyde 
41
41
44
44
46
48
47


Tayside 
13
16
9
11
9
16
15


Total
119
122
108
103
120
135
166


Vandalism etc.
 


Central 
385
298
273
284
290
336
372


Dumfries and Galloway
140
118
112
159
105
155
189


Fife 
384
347
283
292
322
250
301


Grampian 
568
548
511
405
447
415
421


Lothian and Borders 
738
628
586
558
560
587
495


Northern 
303
320
277
257
276
281
392


Strathclyde 
1,884
1,823
1,556
1,458
1,481
1,566
1,702


Tayside 
430
441
409
433
416
405
467


Total
4,832
4,523
4,007
3,846
3,897
3,995
4,339



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes estimated data.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons had a charge proved for (a) crimes against public justice, (b) handling an offensive weapon and (c) drugs in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Selected Offences1, by Police Force Area, 1997-2003

  

Offence/Police Force Area
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20032


Crimes Against Public Justice
 


Central 
385
234
322
415
508
443
378


Dumfries and Galloway
156
111
139
142
151
103
115


Fife 
414
445
416
312
331
237
262


Grampian 
486
435
371
307
364
444
492


Lothian and Borders 
656
728
636
652
605
590
546


Northern 
112
85
101
93
129
143
180


Strathclyde 
2,646
2,216
2,072
1,908
1,946
2,055
2,049


Tayside 
491
484
565
1016
1283
983
1073


Total
5,346
4,738
4,622
4,845
5,317
4,998
5,095


Handling an Offensive Weapon 
 


Central 
62
53
50
54
70
62
85


Dumfries and Galloway
48
37
47
35
32
44
50


Fife 
50
33
43
41
74
55
58


Grampian 
87
97
74
63
118
102
111


Lothian and Borders 
278
271
211
204
278
325
254


Northern 
43
43
34
31
46
46
53


Strathclyde 
1,482
1,397
1,499
1,680
1,939
1,821
2,048


Tayside 
144
131
122
130
138
134
140


Total
2,194
2,062
2,080
2,238
2,695
2,589
2,799


Drugs 
 


Central 
283
244
259
235
342
373
452


Dumfries and Galloway
256
183
172
130
97
133
146


Fife 
367
325
296
148
160
207
174


Grampian 
889
861
656
455
613
564
743


Lothian and Borders 
969
841
796
738
776
567
587


Northern 
415
382
311
267
349
384
412


Strathclyde 
3,400
3,644
3,442
2,984
2,931
3,052
4,009


Tayside 
448
447
507
469
468
521
582


Total
7,027
6,927
6,439
5,426
5,736
5,801
7,105



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes estimated data.

Justice

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations it contacted, or had discussions with, in respect of its proposals for compulsory blood testing prior to the publication on 24 February 2005 of Blood testing following criminal incidents where there is a risk of infection: Proposals for Legislation .

Cathy Jamieson: The Executive is committed to thorough, effective and appropriate consultation in formulating policy.

  Prior to the launch of our consultation document, Blood testing following criminal incidents where there is a risk of infection, exchanges took place with the Canadian Professional Police Association, the Scottish Police Federation, the Information Commissioner, the Scottish Criminal Record Office, the Scottish Prison Service, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, Health Protection Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland and the Judicial Studies Committee. The issues were also discussed at the 2004 International Law Enforcement Conference hosted by the Scottish Police Federation.

  There was also regular contact between the Executive and the Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee, and the issues were debated in the Scottish Parliament on 20 February 2003, in the context of the proposed Amendment 76 to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

  Further discussions with particular stakeholder groups may take place in the light of responses now being received to the consultation, to ensure that a wide range of views is taken into consideration.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many sheriffs there are and, of these, how many have participated in training of any kind within the last (a) 12 months, (b) 24 months, and (c) five years and how many have never participated in training since their appointment.

Cathy Jamieson: The responsibility for training of the judiciary rests with the independent Judicial Studies Committee, chaired by Lord Wheatley. There are 140 sheriffs in post. Since 1997, all new appointees have been required to participate in an induction course of five days duration before sitting alone. In the last five years, all sheriffs have attended at least one refresher course of three days duration. Most sheriffs regularly attend at least one other training event each year. In addition, sheriffs attend training events and lectures run by outside organisations such as the Scottish Association for the Study of Delinquency.

National Trust for Scotland

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Scottish Natural Heritage and the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) on the future of NTS properties.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive has regular contact with Scottish Natural Heritage and, usually through Historic Scotland, with the National Trust for Scotland to discuss a broad range of issues affecting the natural and cultural heritage of Scotland. The National Trust for Scotland is an independent charity and, subject to any legislative restrictions, it decides the future of its properties.

Pensioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the consequential funding under the Barnett formula of the decision announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget 2005 to abolish charges to pensioners while in hospital for each of the next three financial years.

Rhona Brankin: The 2003 Budget announced that all pensioners in hospital would continue to receive their state pension entitlement for stays of up to 52 weeks. Budget 2005 announced that this will now be extended so that all those entering hospital from April 2005 will continue to receive their full state pension and their full entitlement to Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance and Income Support for the entire duration of their stay in hospital from April 2006. Those already in hospital will have their benefits increased from April 2006, if they have then been in hospital for 52 weeks or more. This is in recognition of the fact that pensioners have many on-going fixed commitments such as housing costs and utility bills while they are in hospital.

  Because these measures are administered through the Benefits System, all Scottish pensioners will benefit and there are no consequential changes to the Executive’s Budget.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons had a charge proved for the motor vehicle offences (a) dangerous and careless driving, (b) drunk driving, (c) speeding, (d) unlawful use of vehicle, (e) vehicle defect offences, and (f) other offences in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Motor Vehicle Offences1, by Police Force Area, 1997-2003

  

Offence/Police Force Area 
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20033


Dangerous and Careless Driving
 


Central 
143
141
123
94
124
138
182


Dumfries and Galloway
282
191
256
172
144
197
207


Fife 
358
254
185
161
236
237
210


Grampian 
657
674
535
412
445
416
569


Lothian and Borders 
633
527
356
323
420
457
507


Northern 
448
330
288
223
273
308
405


Strathclyde 
1,868
1,471
1,325
1,199
1,293
1,316
1,499


Tayside 
343
320
301
232
282
350
448


Total
4,732
3,908
3,369
2,816
3,217
3,419
4,027


Drunk Driving 
 


Central 
424
383
371
393
298
640
537


Dumfries and Galloway
214
189
205
166
210
214
234


Fife 
488
424
376
360
369
708
583


Grampian 
948
895
840
784
811
920
1,012


Lothian and Borders 
1,437
1,366
1,188
1,122
1,171
1,495
1,381


Northern 
645
544
533
499
568
679
715


Strathclyde 
3,710
2,869
2,830
2,784
2,725
3,430
3,017


Tayside 
653
617
556
583
640
768
801


Total
8,519
7,287
6,899
6,691
6,792
8,854
8,280


Speeding 
 


Central 
638
701
939
838
768
713
859


Dumfries and Galloway
1,798
865
1,810
1,386
893
917
853


Fife 
533
393
543
560
490
558
899


Grampian 
1,411
1,827
1,800
1,519
1,205
1,090
1,249


Lothian and Borders 
2,101
2,142
2,006
1,494
1,663
1,681
1,580


Northern 
487
531
915
589
927
1,269
1,648


Strathclyde 
3,859
3,943
4,594
3,567
2,353
1,701
2,840


Tayside 
1,386
2,134
1,655
1,362
1,678
1,707
2,106


Total
12,213
12,536
14,262
11,315
9,977
9,636
12,034


Unlawful Use of Vehicle 
 


Central 
971
916
964
1,218
1,357
1,435
1,425


Dumfries and Galloway
575
478
517
475
474
545
527


Fife 
1,488
1,687
1,448
1,539
1,632
1,770
1,897


Grampian 
1,889
1,873
1,589
1,782
1,778
1,974
1,950


Lothian and Borders 
3,667
3,699
3,097
3,257
3,336
3,416
3,525


Northern 
765
588
547
592
505
661
675


Strathclyde 
9,154
7,695
6,791
6,353
7,022
7,143
7,229


Tayside 
1,830
1,836
1,685
1,706
1,700
1,948
2,229


Total
20,339
18,772
16,638
16,922
17,804
18,892
19,457


Vehicle Defect Offences 
 


Central 
235
195
161
131
132
147
95


Dumfries and Galloway
255
164
182
101
56
74
85


Fife 
121
87
134
70
45
56
62


Grampian 
402
456
276
190
117
190
253


Lothian and Borders 
597
442
337
238
248
210
275


Northern 
160
130
118
105
92
166
157


Strathclyde 
1,154
871
566
575
428
349
429


Tayside 
399
314
230
166
134
206
414


Total
3,323
2,659
2,004
1,576
1,252
1,398
1,770


Other offences 
 


Central 
321
280
227
437
399
446
320


Dumfries and Galloway
320
310
338
232
191
147
176


Fife 
346
248
264
260
241
210
256


Grampian 
595
654
700
697
448
355
344


Lothian and Borders 
2,016
1,829
1,080
950
884
839
833


Northern 
218
130
165
218
202
313
207


Strathclyde 
2,915
2,675
2,979
2,352
2,354
2,043
1,673


Tayside 
695
606
569
291
271
339
548


Total
7,426
6,732
6,322
5,437
4,990
4,692
4,357



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes a small number of cases where force is unknown.

  3. Includes estimated data.

Police

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how Scottish police forces are represented on (a) Europol, (b) the European Police Chiefs’ Task Force and (c) the governing board of the European Police College.

Cathy Jamieson: Mr Graeme Pearson, Director of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland lead on serious organised crime, is the Scottish link at strategic level with Europol. This involves sharing information and experience with fellow senior European law enforcement officers in a number of ways, including attendance at seminars.

  The UK is represented on the European Police Chiefs’ Task Force by the Director General of the National Crime Squad. Mr Pearson is kept fully aware of the activities of this body and is a contributor to its knowledge base.

  Mr David Garbutt, the Director of the Scottish Police College, is a member of the European Police College (CEPOL) Governing Board and is the nominated representative holding voting rights for the United Kingdom. Mr Garbutt is also Chair of the CEPOL Annual Programme Committee and will take up the Presidency of the European Police College for six months in July of this year.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) mean, (b) median and (c) mode level of fines imposed for assaulting a police officer has been in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area

Cathy Jamieson: The available information, which relates to convictions under section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967, is given in the table. This section of the 1967 Act provides that any person who "assaults, resists, obstructs, molests or hinders a constable…" shall be guilty of an offence. Offences which specifically involve an assault on a police officer can not generally be identified separately from other section 41(1)(a) offences in the data held centrally. Similarly, other assaults on police officers which may result in other charges such as serious assault or attempted murder can not be identified separately in the available statistics.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for an Offence Under Section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 19671, by Police Force Area, 1997-2003: Persons Fined

  

Police Force Area
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20032


 
Number of Persons:


Central
73
43
58
64
77
104
88


Dumfries and Galloway
43
40
29
31
32
32
59


Fife
94
82
59
59
72
62
65


Grampian
187
186
137
95
131
159
202


Lothian and Borders
249
273
191
214
208
213
250


Strathclyde
996
811
612
496
596
632
576


Northern
69
82
64
77
93
84
110


Tayside
107
124
125
101
113
156
139


Scotland
1,818
1,641
1,275
1,137
1,322
1,442
1,489


 
Mean (£):


Central
223
289
282
260
250
284
256


Dumfries and Galloway
324
268
317
396
352
380
358


Fife
231
188
174
198
238
182
231


Grampian
228
212
240
230
246
283
259


Lothian and Borders
245
243
250
248
260
261
297


Strathclyde
265
258
258
262
267
258
273


Northern
277
302
244
309
335
425
359


Tayside
242
223
227
212
227
211
232


Scotland
255
248
250
256
265
267
278


 
Median (£):


Central
200
200
250
200
250
250
213


Dumfries and Galloway
300
250
200
400
375
350
400


Fife
213
150
170
180
200
180
200


Grampian
175
178
200
200
200
250
200


Lothian and Borders
200
200
200
200
250
250
250


Strathclyde
250
225
225
225
250
228
250


Northern
250
250
213
225
250
325
288


Tayside
200
178
200
200
200
200
200


Scotland
225
200
200
200
250
250
250


 
Mode (£):


Central
100
100
250
150
200
100
200


Dumfries and Galloway
350
100
200
400
400
200
400


Fife
250
150
200
200
200
100
200


Grampian
100
100
250
200
100
150
100


Lothian and Borders
200
200
250
200
250
150
300


Strathclyde
250
250
150
150
200
200
250


Northern
250
250
150
200
250
250
250


Tayside
150
150
200
100
150
100
100


Scotland
250
150
150
150
200
200
250



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence. Average values shown relate to total penalty imposed for conviction.

  2. Includes estimated data.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) mean, (b) median and (c) mode length of custodial sentences imposed for assaulting a police officer has been in each year since 1994, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information, which relates to convictions under section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967, is given in the table. This section of the 1967 Act provides that any person who "assaults, resists, obstructs, molests or hinders a constable…" shall be guilty of an offence. Offences which specifically involve an assault on a police officer can not generally be identified separately from other section 41(1)(a) offences in the data held centrally. Similarly, other assaults on police officers which may result in other charges such as serious assault or attempted murder can not be identified separately in the available statistics.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for an Offence Under Section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 19671, by Police Force Area, 1994-2003: Persons Receiving a Custodial Sentence

  

Police Force Area
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20032


 
Number of Persons:


Central
26
17
23
12
15
18
18
25
24
25


Dumfries and Galloway
10
12
10
17
10
15
14
14
10
13


Fife
25
26
26
26
22
14
23
23
17
31


Grampian
43
33
31
32
32
28
18
28
46
30


Lothian and Borders
41
65
60
58
71
81
74
76
87
77


Northern
38
28
25
25
26
22
32
34
38
31


Strathclyde
294
259
307
274
235
200
207
196
214
252


Tayside
33
30
25
43
56
47
43
49
60
67


Scotland
510
470
507
487
467
425
429
445
496
526


 
Mean (days):


Central
97
76
92
129
81
90
103
139
109
98


Dumfries and Galloway
97
106
85
119
155
111
108
113
91
74


Fife
122
122
121
125
124
111
135
137
116
122


Grampian
95
117
101
86
88
126
83
106
106
144


Lothian and Borders
125
132
130
118
119
116
109
109
127
108


Northern
91
127
104
113
103
133
112
143
105
129


Strathclyde
135
124
131
115
117
122
121
121
112
117


Tayside
155
122
101
102
115
131
128
94
84
112


Scotland
126
123
123
113
114
121
117
118
110
116


 
Median (days):


Central
91
60
91
106
91
61
91
122
91
91


Dumfries and Galloway
91
91
76
91
107
91
91
91
91
91


Fife
91
91
122
91
107
91
91
122
122
91


Grampian
91
91
91
91
91
91
91
91
91
91


Lothian and Borders
91
91
117
91
122
91
91
91
122
91


Northern
76
91
91
91
91
122
91
122
91
122


Strathclyde
122
91
122
91
91
91
91
91
91
91


Tayside
122
91
91
91
91
122
122
91
91
91


Scotland
91
91
107
91
91
91
91
91
91
91


 
Mode (days):


Central
91
122
91
60
91
60
91
122
91
30


Dumfries and Galloway
91
91
60
91
91
91
60
91
91
91


Fife
91
60
122
91
91
182
182
91
122
91


Grampian
91
91
60
91
91
91
91
91
91
91


Lothian and Borders
91
91
91
91
182
91
91
91
91
91


Northern
30
91
60
91
91
91
91
122
91
122


Strathclyde
182
91
182
91
91
91
91
91
91
91


Tayside
182
60
30
91
91
91
91
91
91
91


Scotland
91
91
91
91
91
91
91
91
91
91



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence. Average values shown relate to total penalty imposed for conviction.

  2. Includes estimated data.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13580 by Cathy Jamieson on 28 January 2005, how many convictions for assault of a police officer there were in each year from 1994 to 2004, broken down by police force area

Cathy Jamieson: The available information, which relates to convictions under section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967, is given in the table. This section of the 1967 Act provides that any person who "assaults, resists, obstructs, molests or hinders a constable…" shall be guilty of an offence. Offences which specifically involve an assault on a police officer can not generally be identified separately from other section 41(1)(a) offences in the data held centrally. Similarly, other assaults on police officers which may result in other charges such as serious assault or attempted murder can not be identified separately in the available statistics.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for an Offence Under Section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 19671, by Police Force Area, 1994-2003

  

Police Force Area
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20032


Central
175
183
175
120
92
107
111
144
177
175


Dumfries and Galloway
93
77
65
73
62
56
59
64
59
93


Fife
176
147
145
165
143
101
113
142
140
160


Grampian
298
324
262
274
271
199
163
201
246
309


Lothian and Borders
343
409
387
388
455
381
380
382
417
419


Northern
184
171
150
121
135
124
142
166
152
190


Strathclyde
1,454
1,425
1,606
1,621
1,396
1,112
969
1,066
1,177
1,384


Tayside
146
194
174
231
258
264
209
237
323
305


Scotland
2,869
2,930
2,964
2,993
2,812
2,344
2,146
2,402
2,691
3,035



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes estimated data.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions for assault of a police officer resulted in (a) custody, (b) a financial penalty and (c) a community sentence in each year since 1994, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information, which relates to convictions under section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967, is given in the table. This section of the 1967 Act provides that any person who "assaults, resists, obstructs, molests or hinders a constable…" shall be guilty of an offence. Offences which specifically involve an assault on a police officer can not generally be identified separately from other section 41(1)(a) offences in the data held centrally. Similarly, other assaults on police officers which may result in other charges such as serious assault or attempted murder can not be identified separately in the available statistics.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for an Offence Under Section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 19671, by Selected Type of Sentence and police Force Area, 1994-2003

  

Police Force Area
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20032


 
Custody:


Central
26
17
23
12
15
18
18
25
24
25


Dumfries and Galloway
10
12
10
17
10
15
14
14
10
13


Fife 
25
26
26
26
22
14
23
23
17
31


Grampian
43
33
31
32
32
28
18
28
46
30


Lothian and Borders
41
65
60
58
71
81
74
76
87
77


Northern
38
28
25
25
26
22
32
34
38
31


Strathclyde
294
259
307
274
235
200
207
196
214
252


Tayside
33
30
25
43
56
47
43
49
60
67


Scotland 
510
470
507
487
467
425
429
445
496
526


 
Financial penalty:


Central
117
134
122
74
44
61
65
84
105
96


Dumfries and Galloway
60
54
44
42
40
29
31
30
32
58


Fife 
116
92
81
94
79
60
59
72
61
64


Grampian
207
224
173
185
187
135
96
128
157
200


Lothian and Borders
233
272
222
251
273
192
213
203
211
239


Northern
104
107
100
70
82
64
76
91
81
106


Strathclyde
906
903
975
992
796
602
485
595
635
676


Tayside
83
122
97
106
120
123
99
112
156
134


Scotland 
1,826
1,908
1,814
1,814
1,621
1,266
1,124
1,315
1,438
1,573


 
Community sentence:


Central
13
15
20
20
16
13
16
20
28
26


Dumfries and Galloway
15
3
4
11
9
5
8
7
11
18


Fife 
15
16
25
21
29
12
19
27
42
47


Grampian
21
40
25
19
22
21
20
19
27
48


Lothian and Borders
41
39
61
51
65
78
67
71
83
70


Northern
27
24
19
19
21
20
20
33
27
39


Strathclyde
143
151
176
204
199
151
152
174
218
287


Tayside
22
24
30
55
52
57
40
49
77
69


Scotland 
297
312
360
400
413
357
342
400
513
604



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes estimated data.

Prison Service

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what aspects of the prison service would be different if its "bridge the gap" proposals were implemented.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  "The challenge set for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and the SPS-Trade Union Side (TUS) has been to develop a robust and credible plan for the design, construction and management of a second new prison, most likely at the current Low Moss site. The proposals will need to show that the new public sector service is competitive, offers value for money, delivers all requirements and additional places on time and inspires confidence that the service can be delivered and sustained by both the SPS and TUS. The challenge will be to provide a modern and affordable public sector solution to the delivery of prison services.

  The team have not yet concluded as to their solution and to speculate on the final outcomes of the joint SPS and TUS partnership’s work might lead to commercial disadvantage in developing a competitive in-house bid. We can, however, advise that it has been agreed by the partners that all SPS employees operating within the public sector prison, if successful, would be covered by the terms of the Civil Service Management Code.

Prison Service

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in response to the Audit Scotland report, Scottish Prison Service: Correctional Opportunities for Prisoners , published in January 2005.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is available on the SPS website at:

  http://www.sps.gov.uk/keydocs/Audit%20Scotland/SPS%20Response.htm.

Regulation

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place between it and the UK Government prior to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget 2005 announcement that the Office of Fair Trading, the Hearing Aid Council, the British Hallmarking Council and the National Weights and Measures Laboratory are to be merged to form the new Consumer and Trading Standards Agency; which ministers participated in any discussions; whether it will place the minutes of any discussions in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre; whether the new agency will have offices in Scotland; how it will report to the Executive and the Parliament; who will appoint its board; what role the Executive will have in such appointments, and how much of the agency’s budget will be for devolved functions.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Hampton Review is a UK-wide initiative to co-ordinate regulators across a number of agencies. The Chancellor of the Exchequer asked Philip Hampton (June 2004) to examine the scope for promoting more efficient approaches to regulatory inspection and enforcement. Hampton asked businesses what they think about inspection and enforcement regimes - with a view to making improvements. The Executive maintains close contact with the UK Government and officials also met the Hampton Team on several occasions.

  The Report largely relates to UK reserved areas or to England. It is not anticipated that the proposed Consumer Protection and Trading Standards Agency will have any devolved functions and therefore no part of its budget is for devolved functions. Some of the reserved issues are however of vital importance to Scottish businesses. All studies show that the vast majority of red tape burden on Scottish businesses falls in areas which have an EU or UK legislative base, therefore we warmly welcome measures which help business in these areas. We will work closely with Whitehall colleagues to ensure Scottish business needs are reflected as these proposals are worked through.

Residential Care

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be allocated for free personal care in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive has allocated £153 million for 2005-06, £162 million for 2006-07 and £169 million for 2007-08 for free personal care.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of land is made up of (a) motorways, (b) A class roads and (c) B class roads.

Nicol Stephen: The Department of Transport (DfT) produces estimates of the total land area that is covered by all roads in Great Britain. DfT estimates that motorways accounted for 0.02% of the area of Scotland in 2001, and that A roads accounted for 0.20%. DfT’s calculations do not distinguish between the different types of minor road (B, C and unclassified). However, using information provided by DfT, it is estimated that B roads accounted for 0.07% of the area of Scotland in 2001. In total motorways, A class roads and B class roads form an estimated 0.29% of land in Scotland.

Schools

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the names of schools that have applied to be Schools of Ambition.

Peter Peacock: Yes. This was announced on 19 April 2005. The list is as follows:

  Aberdeen City – Northfield Academy and St Machar Academy

  Aberdeenshire – Fraserburgh Academy

  Angus – Arbroath Academy and Brechin High

  Argyll and Bute – Islay High

  Dumfries and Galloway – Dumfries Academy, Castle Douglas High and Wallace Hall Academy

  Dundee City – Braeview Academy, St John’s RC High, Morgan Academy

  East Ayrshire – Doon Academy

  East Dunbartonshire – St Ninian’s High and Campsie View School

  East Lothian – Preston Lodge High, Ross High and Dunbar Grammar

  East Renfrewshire – Barrhead High

  Edinburgh City – Craigroyston High

  Falkirk – Braes High

  Fife – Buckhaven High and Kirkland High

  Glasgow City – Rosshall Academy, St Paul’s High, Springburn Academy and Castlemilk High/St Margaret Mary’s Secondary (joint bid)

  Highland – Inverness High

  Midlothian – Newbattle High School

  Moray – Lossiemouth High

  North Ayrshire – Ardrossan Academy

  North Lanarkshire – Cardinal Newman High

  Perth and Kinross – Blairgowrie High

  Renfrewshire – Linwood High

  Scottish Borders – Hawick High

  Shetland Isles – Anderson High and Scalloway Junior High

  South Ayrshire – Carrick Academy

  South Lanarkshire – Learning community around Lanark Grammar, taking in 12 establishments

  Stirling – St Modan’s RC High

  West Dunbartonshire – Our Lady and St Patrick’s High

  West Lothian – Burnhouse School

Schools

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be available to Schools of Ambition and for how long.

Peter Peacock: Provided the plans are ambitious enough and will deliver real improvements, the Scottish Executive will act as guarantor of at least an additional £100,000 per year for an agreed period. Benefactors of the school may offer additional support that will allow the school to add value and extra options to transform the life of the school.

Scottish Executive Publications

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many publications it produced in 2004-05.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of producing publications in 2004-05.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive produced 263 publications in 2004-05 at a cost of £1,494,496.

Scottish Executive Property

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each of its departments spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by ministers and officials in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister, is the only residential property on the Scottish Executive core estate. The table below sets out the expenditure as requested. The Executive does not pay council tax in respect of this property but non-domestic rates. Details of the amounts spent to date on maintenance, renovations, non-domestic rates and running costs (which includes utilities and cleaning) are shown below. On-going "renovation" work appropriate to the age and style of the property includes, re-wiring, installation of an external disabled lift and the adaptation of the toilets to allow disabled access. The pattern of expenditure on maintenance is largely determined by the number of projects in the long term planned preventative maintenance programme agreed with the National Trust for Scotland, to which we are committed under the terms of the lease.

  

 
Maintenance
Renovations
Rates
Running Costs
Total


1999-00
£59,800
£154,000
£4,500
£8,900
£227,200


2000-01
£24,000
£16,500
£5,000
£24,000
£69,500


2001-02
£19,100
£89,900
£7,000
£22,200
£138,200


2002-03
£26,500
£114,300
£7,500
£20,900
£169,200


2003-04
£27,900
£54,100
£8,400
£23,000
£113,400


2004-05 (to date)
£24,700
£22,000
£9,500
£19,500
£75,700

Sex Offenders

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when and where the announcement referred to in its news release of 15 March 2005 that "Last week First Minister Jack McConnell announced plans to end the automatic early release without condition of sex offenders on short sentences" was made.

Cathy Jamieson: The Executive proposes to end the practice of unconditional early release for all sex offenders serving over six months.

  On 25 November 2004, the First Minister indicated to the Parliament that the Executive believes that there is a strong case for ending automatic early release of sex offenders and for delivering better public protection through closer supervision of sex offenders in the community. On 5 March, the First Minister said in Dundee that the Executive was considering proposals to end the automatic early release without conditions of sex offenders on short sentences. A reference to this comment was included in the notes to editors of an Executive press release issued on 15 March to mark the signing of a Concordat to improve inter-agency working with sex offenders.

  I have now written to the Sentencing Commission for Scotland, seeking their views on a range of options for changing the early release and post-release supervision arrangements for sex offenders. The options paper has been copied to the conveners of the Justice Committees and copies have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 36095).

Sports

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote greater uptake of sports training amongst local authorities to increase the number of young disabled people participating in sports.

Patricia Ferguson: Sportscotland are working in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) and the Youth Sport Trust to develop a new disability inclusion module on including people with a disability in physical education, physical activity and sport. This module will be rolled out across Scotland from 2006 and every Active Schools Co-ordinator will be provided with an opportunity to attend the training. It is anticipated that this training will replace SDS’s current disability awareness training which is available to local authorities, governing bodies of sport and other agencies. This training along with Coach UK disability courses currently appear in the Support and Training manual produced by  sportscotland and issued to the Active Schools Network to underpin Active School Co-ordinators’ work with young disabled people.

Sports

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional ring-fenced funding was made available to schools to encourage participation in sports by young disabled people in each year from 1999 to 2004, broken down by local authority area.

Patricia Ferguson: Funding from   sportscotland for school sport is available on the basis of applications from local authorities and/or individual schools as part of wider programmes and there is no central record on which elements of the funding will be specifically diverted to work with disabled young people.

  For example funding under Active Schools is provided on the basis of local authority implementation and investment plans which aim to address each Council’s specific requirements.

  Active Schools funding is targeted at all children and disability has been identified as one of the five key target areas. There are currently 11 Special Educational Needs (SEN) co-ordinators within the Active School network who have specific responsibility to ensure the inclusion of children with disabilities in Active Schools. In authorities where there are no SEN co-ordinators, the Active Schools Co-ordinators are directly responsible for the inclusion of disabled children.

  Every special school in Scotland has been provided with an opportunity to receive SportSability training and associated resources.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Building

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has any plans to publish an illustrated hardback book about the Holyrood building for sale in the Parliament shop and elsewhere.

Andrew Welsh (SPCB): A book about the Parliament building, written by Charles Jencks, has been published by Scala publishing. It is currently available from the Parliament shop. The Scottish Parliament Corporate Body will be considering later this year whether to publish a guidebook to the building for exclusive sale in the Parliament Shop and if so in what format.